Parking
Begin at Blackwater car park, the arboretum access off Rhinefield Ornamental Drive. The official walk leaflet lists space for about 50 cars and two accessible bays.
Overview
About Blackwater Tall Trees Arboretum Link
Why go
- Giant sequoias and oak arches in a quick loop
- Short section of the Tall Trees Trail
Heads up
- Shorter and less complete than the full Tall Trees circuit
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the New Forest map
Full mapElevation32–43 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
1 active New Forest alert
- CautionNew Forest outdoor-fire restrictionDo not use BBQs, campfires, stoves, outdoor camping equipment or other naked flames on the open Forest.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
New Forest Tour Guide
Your drive to Blackwater Tall Trees Arboretum Link, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for New Forest National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this trailhead
Blackwater Arboretum and Tall Trees0:00 / 0:25
“You're approaching Blackwater Arboretum, where conifers planted in the 1850s include towering redwoods and some of Britain's oldest Douglas firs.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf New Forest Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- When Giant Trees Were New
- Knightwood Oak
- Anderwood Picnic Area
- Whitefield Moor and Ober Water
- 283 audio storiesacross New Forest’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Red Deer, White-tailed Eagle, Harbor Seal, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 70 trails, 48 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Blackwater Tall Trees Arboretum Link
A compact tree loopBlackwater Tall Trees Arboretum Link is a 1.
Blackwater Tall Trees Arboretum Link is a 1.1-mile loop from Blackwater car park, listed as an easy half-hour walk. It passes through the arboretum to the Giant Sequoias, then joins a short section of the Tall Trees Trail to close the circuit. Choose it for a quick look at the big trees; the separate full Tall Trees loop is about 1.4–1.5 miles.
Oak arches and redwoodsThe route starts beneath an oak arch and crosses Rhinefield Ornamental Drive.
The route starts beneath an oak arch and crosses Rhinefield Ornamental Drive. Beyond another arch, the arboretum link bends among its giant sequoias before meeting the Tall Trees path. Follow that short shared stretch past the wooden bridge and back toward the car park. The payoff is the planted collection of towering conifers, including redwoods, all packed into a walk that leaves time for another stop.
PracticalitiesBlackwater car park has toilets, an accessible toilet, picnic tables, bike racks and an…
Blackwater car park has toilets, an accessible toilet, picnic tables, bike racks and an information point. No food or drinking water was found on the route. The shorter link is listed as accessible, but the detailed surface and bridge measurements apply to the separate longer Tall Trees route; don't assume they describe every arboretum path. Dogs are allowed. Cross the drive carefully.
Wildlife
Wildlife in New Forest
28 sightingsRed DeerMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
10 sightingsWhite-tailed EagleMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
14 sightingsHarbor SealMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
176 sightingsEuropean Fallow DeerMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
93 sightingsWestern Roe DeerMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
54 sightingsMute SwanMost seen around 6 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across New Forest. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
